


the muffin man

by intothewoodz



Category: X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27779467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intothewoodz/pseuds/intothewoodz
Summary: Hangyul has a horrible day and all he wants is a chocolate chip muffin. What he gets instead may be even better.
Relationships: Cho Seungyeon | Seungyoun/Lee Hangyul
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14
Collections: Blazing Lights





	the muffin man

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: hangyul loves the pastries the local bakery makes a lot, especially the chocolate chip muffins. one day he comes to buy two (one for him, one for dohyon) but there's only one left and to make things worse, someone snatches it up right as he's about to take it!
> 
> i'm sorry because this fic is honestly not my best work, but i really wanted to at least finish so i still hope you enjoy

Hangyul’s day had not gotten off to a very good start. His alarm hadn’t gone off in the morning and had to sprint out the door without his breakfast or coffee. If that hadn’t been bad enough on its own, after running into class disheveled and out of breath, his stomach had growled loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear and he wanted to hide in embarrassment the whole time.

As if he hadn’t had enough misfortune for one day, his professor also decided to spring a pop quiz on them, which Hangyul was nowhere near prepared for and just to top it all off, it also happens to be pouring rain and his umbrella is conveniently still at home, right alongside his uneaten breakfast.

The only solace he has is that now he’s finally done with classes for the day and can head over to his favorite café to pick something up for both himself and his little brother, Dohyon. The cute little shop is right along the path between campus and his apartment, so it really isn’t much of a detour and ever since discovering the place, both he and Dohyon have been obsessed.

Hangyul doesn’t use the word “love” very lightly, but he’s not at all exaggerating when he says he loves their chocolate chip muffins more than anything. The texture is light and fluffy with a perfect ratio and even distribution of chocolate chips all throughout. They’re simply _perfect_ and Hangyul’s mood starts to improve just from the thought of them.

When he walks into the shop, his eyes go straight towards the display of pastries, only to find that there only seems to be a single muffin left. He’s not exaggerating when he says all of his happiness is riding on being able to get his hands on this muffin, so he prays that the few people in line in front of him don’t order it.

It’s almost his turn and the muffin has yet to be claimed as the person right in front of him walks up to the register.

“Can I get an iced americano and a chocolate chip muffin?” the man asks and Hangyul feels his heart sink. He watches in a daze as he takes the last muffin from the shelf, his happiness snatched away from him, right in front of his eyes.

Hangyul knows that the stranger hasn’t done anything wrong, but he can’t help but internally curse him for taking the muffin he had set his eyes on. He’s so out of it that he doesn’t even realize when the other man steps aside and Hangyul is being called up to the register.

“By any chance, are there any more chocolate chip muffins?” Hangyul asks, despite knowing that there aren’t. The café bakes everything fresh every morning and once they run out for the day, the only hope is to come back again the next.

“No, I’m sorry. We just ran out.”

“Then, can I just get a large iced coffee and a cookie to-go,” he says, figuring Dohyon would still appreciate a sweet treat.

As he waits for his order, he mindlessly scrolls through his phone, not paying attention to much else in his surroundings as he tries to quell his disappointment at losing the one thing he was looking forward to today.

When his order is called, he quickly pulls his hood on so he can brace himself for the rain as soon as he grabs his drink, but when he goes up to the counter, he’s met with a surprise.

The bag he’s handed along with his drink contains not only the cookie he had ordered for Dohyon, but also a chocolate chip muffin.

“I don’t think this is mine,” Hangyul says, confused.

“The guy before you said to give it to you.”

Hangyul freezes, not knowing how to process what’s happening. Did Hangyul really seem so distraught over a muffin that a random stranger decided to gift it to him? He still can’t wrap his head around it, but regardless of why he had been inclined to do so, Hangyul knows that his first step should be to thank him.

He turns around, quickly scanning the café for the person who was in front of him earlier, but he doesn’t see him. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees something through the window. It’s only a short glimpse, but he recognizes the bright orange beanie as his savior of the day.

Hangyul thanks the server for his order before running out the door to see if he can catch him, but there’s no sight of him.

Though he’s happy about the muffin, he can’t help but a feel bittersweet.

* * *

Hangyul’s visits to the café become a lot more frequent in the weeks following that incident. Dohyon doesn’t question it and just happily accepts the baked goods that his brother brings him, which Hangyul is thankful for because he doesn’t think he would ever live it down if the younger knew the real reason he keeps going back.

Weeks later, Hangyul is still in pursuit of the mysterious muffin man, as he’s decided to call him until he learns his real name, and the café is the only clue he has to go off of. Even Hangyul himself thinks it’s a bit pathetic that so much of his income is going towards pastries just so that he _might_ be able to catch a glimpse of someone he’s never even talked to. Still, Hangyul was raised to thank people who do nice things for him and he’s determined to do whatever it takes to accomplish just that.

That being said, Hangyul has already visited the small shop multiple times this week and he’s pretty sure the workers there are starting to get tired of seeing his face again and again as he pulls out a measly few coins to order the cheapest thing on the menu. He really hopes his search doesn’t have to go on for much longer because it’s starting to take a severe toll on his wallet.

With a sigh, he walks right past the café and heads for the small convenience store a few more doors down instead. After all the sugar he’s consumed recently, Hangyul feels inclined to replenish his stash of salty snacks to counteract it, as if the sugar and sodium would neutralize each other. He has a feeling that’s not how chemistry actually works, but it makes sense in his head so he just goes with it.

Hangyul doesn’t hesitate for a moment, knowing exactly which aisle and exactly which shelf his target is located at. He reaches his hand out to grab what appears to be the last bag of his favorite brand of chips, but quickly retreats when he collides with someone else who had been about to grab the same exact thing.

“Sorry,” the other person says. “You can take it.”

Hangyul turns to them, about to ask if he’s sure, when he notices something familiar. Atop this person’s head is a familiar bright orange beanie.

“Oh my god, you’re the muffin man,” Hangyul says without thinking, struggling to process the situation.

“The muffin man?” he asks, looking at him quizzically.

“Sorry, it’s just that I’ve been looking for you—oh my god, that makes me sound like a creep.” Hangyul is tempted to just run away and pretend this exchange never happened in an attempt to escape the embarrassment he feels right now, but he knows that’s not an option. He takes a deep breath and continues, “I’m sorry. None of that came out right. Can I start over?”

The other man gives a slight nod, the look of confusion never leaving his face.

“My name is Hangyul and I think I met you briefly at the café that’s just down the street from here. You took the last chocolate chip muffin, but you gave it to me even though you had no clue who I was.”

“Oh!” the other exclaims, eyes lighting up in recognition. “I remember that! You seemed so down that day and I figured a muffin would’ve done a lot more for you than for me.”

“You didn’t even stick around to let me thank you.”

“I didn’t do it so that I could receive thanks. If it cheered you up even a little bit, then that would’ve been enough for me.”

“But why? I was just a stranger to you. I still am.”

“Yeah, but just because you’re a stranger doesn’t mean I want you to be sad.”

Hangyul smiles at how sweet and kind-hearted his muffin man really is. “Well, even though it’s late, I really wanted to thank you. I was having a terrible day and the muffin really did help a lot.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I don’t know what I would’ve done without you, Mr. Muffin Man.”

“I’ll have you know that Mr. Muffin Man has a name,” he chuckles. Hangyul thinks absentmindedly that he really likes the sound of that laugh.

“Oh? You mean your name _isn’t_ the ridiculous nickname I made up for you?”

“As much as that would make sense, no it actually isn’t,” he jokes, playing along. “My name’s Seungyoun.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Hangyul says. He’s about to offer a handshake when his attention is caught by another person trying to squeeze a shopping cart past them in the narrow aisle. Suddenly, Hangyul remembers where they are and what led them here in the first place.

Hangyul reaches up on the shelf and swiftly grabs the last bag of chips before holding it out for Seungyoun.

“You gave me the muffin, so you should take these.”

Seungyoun looks back and forth between him and the bag of chips.

“Please take them, my arm is getting tired.”

That makes Seungyoun smile and is apparently persuasive enough to make him actually take it. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, we’re even.”

“But if I remember correctly, I paid for your muffin, so technically this isn’t quite enough to make us even.”

“Are you telling me to buy this for you?”

“No, there’s no need for that,” Seungyoun says, a playful glint in his eyes. “But there is one thing you can do for me to make up the difference.”

“And what would that be?”

“Take me on a date.”

Hangyul freezes in shock for a moment before his expression quickly shifts into a bright smile. “I guess that’s a pretty fair price,” he says, eyes twinkling. “It looks like we have a deal, Mr. Muffin Man.”

* * *

They go back to the café for their first date and decide to split a chocolate chip muffin, the very thing that brought them together in the first place.

Hangyul doesn’t use the word “love” very lightly, but he’s not at all exaggerating when he says that he’s starting to fall in love with Seungyoun.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! writing has been a struggle recently so any kudos/comments would be very much appreciated


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